the one where I got a bad text

You can tell you're going to have a bad day if you wake up to a text that reads "call me when you get this" from your mom. It was early, before I was fully functional, but my inquisitive mind pushed me to call her back. No answer. So I called my dad. No answer. At this point, my need for extra sleep overtook my curiosity. I woke to Sam calling me on my dad's phone. My mom and dad had taken Drew to Primary Children's in the middle of the night because his ear got worse. My mom called me back, explaining that the machines in the hospital cause poor reception. She asked if there was any way I could come home and I told her I had already taken care of what I needed to so I could come. My Thanksgiving Break started a couple of days early. Owen has sores on his face (we think it's Hand Foot Mouth) so he was sad that he couldn't go anywhere. We had fun painting with the girls once they got home from school. Owen: Kensie, pretend you don't know your left. Me: Okay, why? Owen: *holds up fingers in L shape* Which one is the L? Me: *points to left fingers* Owen: Good job! You're correct! And now you know which one's left. *shrugs/smirks* That's just a little trick I made up.

the one where I learned my lesson

Let's say you are feeling a little under-the-weather. Let's say you went to the grocery store and bought 3 items: cold medicine, cough drops, and Vick's Vapo-rub. And let's say that you sniffle probably close to 50 million bajillion times while checking out. Let's say that you look like you haven't slept for a week. And for fun, let's say that the cashier insightfully asks you, "Are you sick?" Let's say your brain is a little cloudy from The Cold From Hell, and you can think of no brighter response than, "Ya," before taking your 3 items and leaving the store. Let's say that, a couple of hours after taking cold medicine, you are feeling slightly human again. And you are getting ready for bed. Even if you are feeling slightly better, even if you think the medicine is working, if you feel even a tiny tickle in your nose, DO NOT PROCEED TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH. If you do, that tiny tickle in your nose will likely grow. And you will get a look of terror. Because there is nothing you can do. Because your mouth is full of foamy toothpaste. You will fight back that sneeze with all the force your sick body can muster. But you will fail, because cold medicine never works completely, and you will suddenly find yourself in a bathroom full of foamy toothpaste. And cleaning it all up will not be awesome. Lesson learned.

I sense prescriptions in the near future

We in the Smith household live by the phrase "go big or go home." We don't get sick super often, but we like to make a show of it. Drew had an ear infection last week and now his eardrum has burst. Instead of feeling better, as is usually the case, he is still in pain and his ear is dripping. He went to an ENT and had a nasty amount of fluid suctioned. He got a really bad bloody nose, so he had to have his nose cauterized. Everyone has been feeling kind of icky and missed at least one day of school last week. I fear that this is the beginning of the "Smith Sick Show: Winter Edition."

you won't want to miss this.

My brother, Sam, is allergic to all nuts and peanuts. Before he and I went on trek this summer, we searched for a good alternative to peanut butter, since that was on the menu every day. We discovered Biscoff Spread. Yes, Biscoff like the cookies you get on airplanes. Smushed into a creamy, peanut butter texture. (It also comes in crunchy form, which is even better.) We've been buying it ever since. It's been really nice to have a peanut butter substitute for making home lunches and such. When I was little, I had to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day. When we found out Sam was allergic, my mom gave my neighbor a jar of peanut butter and a toothbrush for me. I went there in the afternoon to eat my sandwich and brush my teeth before I came home. Eventually I learned to live without peanut butter. Because I didn't eat peanut butter for so long, I can't stand it any more, but Biscoff Spread is delicious.

For our Halloween party, American Crafts catered in a waffle truck. I ordered some special waffle with raspberries and Biscoff. Because the Biscoff was hot and melty, it was even more delicious than usual. Since then I have been thinking of a way to eat melty Biscoff.

This has been a really long introduction to what I really wanted to share today: Grilled Banana and Biscoff Sandwich Recipe.

Basically a grilled cheese sandwich with some substitutions. I used honey butter (equal parts honey and butter) instead of plain butter. I used a mashed up banana so it would stay on my sandwich better. And finally, a thick layer of Biscoff Spread. The first few bites were heavenly, but then I got really fancy and out came the raspberries and whipped cream. It was perfection I tell you!

the thrill of cupcakes

My roommate, Brooklyn works at a cupcake shop. To advertise, they asked her to bring home boxes of cupcakes and pass them out to people living in our complex. She passed out some to people she knew would love a free cupcake and the rest to complete strangers (who, I'm sure, were also delighted at the prospect of a free cupcake). When she was finished, she remarked how awesome it was to bring magic to people. A bunch of people made the comment, "You just made my day!" Brooklyn was excited that she got to bring that joy to people. A couple of days later, I began to see a deeper concept found in this experience. I was reminded of Jeffrey R. Holland's talk from General Conference in April.  My favorite quote from this talk is, "Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don't expect it and often feel they don'tdeserve it." Obviously this was on a much smaller scale, but Brooklyn got to give unexpected gifts to people who weren't expecting it and got to feel that "thrill."

trunk-or-treat

We went to the grocery store so the kiddos could trunk-or-treat. 'Twas a success except for Owen's screaming. The girlies were superheroes. I didn't have the heart to tell them that Super Girl doesn't actually use guns...

Showing off their super strength...

This is Ainsley's best friend, Jordan. Yes they are the same age. Yes Ainsley is a pipsqueak.

Owen wasn't into the picture-taking thing. Actually he wasn't up for anything that didn't involve candy. Until he got his balloon. Note the elaborate balloons the girls chose.

When it was his turn, Owen said he wanted a ball. My mom said they couldn't do that, but the weary balloon-blower-upper quickly disagreed. She blew up this green balloon and Owen's eyes lit up. He chased that thing all over the parking lot. He enjoyed his ball more than the girls enjoyed their creatures. "It has polka dots!" he exclaimed to anyone who would listen.